Greens reach record-breaking levels of support in multiple polls

Polling from different company’s has put Green support at an all time high. YouGov’s latest poll puts the party on 10%.

The latest YouGov poll puts the party in fourth place, five points behind UKIP (on 15%) and two points ahead of the Lib Dems (on 8%).

The poll also gives the Tories a two point lead over Labour (32%-30%).

The fact that the poll suggests one in ten voters could vote Green will be welcomed by the party. Data from the poll suggests that most of their support is coming from voters who decided to go with the Lib Dems in 2010, with 22% of their support coming from such voters.

1570 GB adults were asked between the 19th and 20th January for the YouGov poll.

However, this poll is not just a one off. The Greens have been growing in prominence in recent months and have gained a lot of coverage due to the fact that they are not being included in the TV debates and David Cameron has said he will not participate without them.

Furthermore, the latest Guardian/ICM poll has put the party at their highest level of support (in that poll) in 20 years on 9%. This poll also put them just two points behind UKIP.

If that was not enough for the Greens, Monday’s Lord Ashcroft poll put the Greens on 11%, four points behind UKIP and two ahead of the Lib Dems.

Overall, the Greens have clearly gained from old Lib Dems supporters, as well as from the recent coverage ironically over not being included in the TV debates. Furthermore, the party is clearly gaining support from the younger generation. YouGov’s poll suggests that they are the second party for 18-24 year olds, with 22% of that age group planning to vote Green, compared to the 29% for Labour and the 18% for the Conservatives.

Whether or not the Greens can translate polling success into votes on May 7 (and subsequently turn those votes into seats) is yet to be seen. But this recent polling success is suggesting that the so-called ‘Green surge’ is really happening.

Richard Wood

Richard Wood is a student at the University Of Aberdeen, Scotland, although originally from Edinburgh. He is the Opine editor for the University Of Aberdeen’s student newspaper: The Gaudie, and is particularly interested in constitutional issues such as the Scottish independence referendum and electoral systems.